Coming To Terms With Magic
by ElizabethGugino
Summary: Emma and Regina's family continues to grow through everything that continues to get thrown their way. When Emma finds out that Regina is pregnant, she goes into major protective mode. But what she is really protecting them from is a specific villain that has yet to make an appearance in Storybrooke. SEQUEL TO WPCTS. Read that first! *Magic Baby fic* Rated M to be on the safe side.
1. Chapter 1

Hello Everyone! Here is the first chapter of the When Push Comes To Shove sequel! You probably should read that before this one. This story starts at the exact same point the first one left off. This is a SwanQueen story through and through! So that means that if for some odd reason something happens between Emma and Regina and they part ways, trust me, it's necessary for the story. I promise SwanQueen is endgame.

This story is now rated M only because of some close call romance between our lovely ladies. I'm not one for writing smut, only the really meaningful moments of touching and whatever else. Otherwise, please use your imagination where necessary.

The second chapter should be up by the end of the week, if not sooner. I'm done moving around for awhile and I only have one more semester of college. (I'm so close to being done!)

Also, for those of you who have started reading this one before, this chapter didn't really change. I just needed to make sure that everything was still on the right path. Which it is. But please read again and let me know what you think. ENJOY!

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS! Except for little Gwen and the new baby to come. :) **

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Many things in Emma Swan's life have surprised her in more ways than just one. She had started to expect random things to happen and her level of surprise had begun to go down significantly. However, there are still moments that catch her completely off guard. Kind of like this one.

"Emma, baby, can you hear me? Come on, Emma, open your eyes." Regina demanded as she lightly patted the blonde's face. Emma's eyes started to open slowly, blinking rapidly to help adjust for the light that was coming in.

"Gina, what happened? Why am I on the floor?" Emma seemed a bit confused as to the reason of her being on floor. If only she had remembered the conversation that she was having before she fainted. The blonde pushed herself up onto her elbows and closer to Regina. She realized that she had attracted quite a bit of attention by her little episode, whatever that may have been. Henry, Snow, Charming, and Doc had all gathered around to make sure that she was okay, while Regina kneeled over Emma protectively, pretty much preventing anyone to come even remotely close to the blonde. The rest of the party goers were still in the other room, probably having been instructed to do so by Snow once she noticed the situation in the foyer.

"Well, my dear, you just fainted a bit. I didn't realize telling you was going to cause such a reaction."

"Tell me what? All I remember is talking about Gwen's magic and how she is going to have lessons with Rumple and that somebody more powerful than Rumple is actually planning all of this. Then we sent Henry into the kitchen with my mom and Gwen. You said you had something to tell me, but then you started crying and oh…" Emma's gaze into the brunette's eyes intensified tenfold when she finally remembered what it was that Regina had told her. At first, her expression imitated that of someone who would be absolutely stunned and confused, then it turned into questioning the brunette for the truth. Regina just nodded her head to confirm the blonde's suspicions. Ever since they met, they've always been able to have silent conversations just by looking into each other's eyes. Emma just stared at her wife completely awestruck. The brunette moved towards the blonde, took her hand and helped lift her off the floor, while Charming ran up behind to put his hands under his daughters arms to help support her.

"Careful, Emma, you hit your head slightly."

"Dad, I'm fine. I'll be fine. I'm… more than fine." Emma never took her gaze away from Regina's. The brunette was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Charming, Snow, and the others were all confused. Clearly, Emma and Regina were thrilled about something but what about was unknown to the onlookers. All except little Gwen. Since birth, her and her blonde mother have always had a magical connection of sorts where they just knew what was going on. Regina had always despised it (and was kind of jealous) but in this case, she was quite thrilled that their young daughter was able to hold her tongue on matters such as this. Especially since she was not ready to tell the world yet.

"Is it safe to assume that you two have some talking that you need to do alone?" Snow had chimed in only because it was starting to become quite awkward in the foyer with the two women just staring at each other and the little four year old giggling to herself. Emma then forced her eyes away from Regina and onto Snow.

"Yeah, Mom, we do need to talk, but it can wait until a little later when Gwen is in bed." Emma took her wife's hands in hers and gave the biggest grin to Regina.

"Emma. Regina. Why don't we take the birthday girl for the night? I'm sure she would just love to have some of Granny's special ice cream cookie cake. Then she could have a sleepover with us. And Henry, would you like to join us?" Snow looked to Henry with pleading eyes. He should realize that she was trying to get Emma and Regina some alone time.

"Uhh… yeah. Grams, I'll join you guys."

"Great! Gwen, let's go get your overnight bag while Henry says bye to all the guests and your mothers." As she said this, she walked towards Gwen, took her little outstretched hand and led her up the staircase to her second floor bedroom.

Regina and Emma watched the whole scenario play out. Neither of them really wanted to be separated from their daughter on her birthday or even from Henry, who was only going to be there for a few days. However, they also wanted some alone time. Emma was definitely excited but considering Regina's past, she was quite concerned.

After what felt like forever, the remaining guests had left the house to retire to their own. Snow and Charming led Gwen to their car with her little duffel bag in Charming's hand. Henry was following close behind them. Once he reached the gate at the end of the walkway, he turned around to look at his two mothers standing on the porch.

Since Gwen was born, Regina had taken a liking to wearing the 'mom' jeans. It never really mattered what she wore though, she looked just as hot in them as she did in her normal mayoral business suits. Emma, on the other hand, went back to her traditional tank top and skinny jeans. Henry couldn't help but notice the loving gesture between the two standing on the porch. Emma had her right arm around Regina's waist, pulling her closer. Regina had wrapped her left arm behind Emma's back and her right arm across the blonde's waist, meshing her fingers together and laying her head gently on Emma's shoulder. There have been many times that Henry has seen this, but never had there been so much love radiating between them.

"Bye, Moms. I'll see you tomorrow." Henry said as he waved goodbye and turned around to walk to the car.

Once the car pulled away with the blonde's parents and their grandkids, Emma turned her head towards Regina's and placed a gentle kiss on her head. The blonde noticed that she still smelled of apples from her shampoo and conditioner from that morning. Never would she ever get sick of that smell or even having her wife so close in her arms.

"So, baby, what do ya say we head inside and have that conversation?" The blonde asked lovingly, still not moving from her current position. Regina lifted her head to look up to Emma, their noses almost touching.

"Yes, dear, I think that sounds like a great idea but only if you can continue to hold me like this."

"Well, I think that is a request that I can handle. And I'll add one better." Emma had a small smirk on her face Regina knew that look all too well.

"What… Emma, no. Whatever you're thinking, no. I know that look. Don't do it."

"What are you talking about, Gina? I don't do anything I'm not allowed to do." She tried to reassure Regina but her smirk just kept getting bigger. The blonde may be a lie detector but that definitely didn't help when she tried to hide things from her brunette wife.

"You are so full of shit, Emma. That grin even says so!"

"Well then, since that's settled…" Emma quickly bent her knees slightly, put her left hand behind the brunette's knees and swept her off her feet. Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's neck.

"Emma, be careful, you just hit your head."

"Baby, today I am pampering my wife. I just found out that she is carrying my child. So I am going to carry her over the threshold and upstairs to our bedroom where I am going to worship her." Before Emma could say any more, Regina had pulled Emma's face to hers and captured the soft, pink lips with her own. That was all the confirmation that the blonde needed.

Emma did exactly what she said she would. Walked over the threshold, through the foyer, up the stairwell, and into the master bedroom, all while kissing Regina and rarely coming up for air. The blonde walked over to the bed and gently laid Regina down on her back. And now she could see it. Like really see it. Regina had a little bit of a glow to her. She looked even more beautiful than she ever had.

Emma climbed onto the bed next to the brunette, being careful not to put any pressure on her lower abdomen. She started kissing Regina very gently, then slowly turning it into a more passionate and desperate kiss. Emma knew she had to be careful not to go too far so she pulled back just enough to be hovering above the brunette. She kissed the tip of Regina's nose and the brunette responded with a simple smile and closed her eyes for a moment to relish in the blonde's embrace. The blonde began to kiss down Regina's jaw line.

"I love you." Emma said, then started moving her lips further south down the brunette's neck.

"You are beautiful." Emma moved lower to Regina's chest.

"You are my everything." Moving to the valley between the brunette's breasts.

"I love that you are carrying my child." The blonde untucked Regina's shirt and pulled it up to rest just above her belly button. Emma lowered herself even further to place light, feathery kisses over Regina's abdomen. The brunette's smile grew bigger and turned into some laughter when the blonde started to whisper to her stomach while her moving lips were ghosting over Regina's skin.

"My dear little one, you have surprised your mother and I. We were starting to think that you would never come around but here you are. I'm here for you little one, I always will be." Emma moved her gaze to Regina's while she talked to the baby through its mother's belly. The blonde then crawled up to the headboard and propped herself up, pulling the brunette in closer to snuggle against her chest.

"Gina, how long have you known?" Emma asked while resting her head on Regina's.

"Only a few days, but I wanted to have an appointment with Dr. Whale before I got your hopes up."

"You could have told me before. I would've gone with you, ya know." Emma picked up her head slightly from resting on Regina's and looked down at her wife, who responded with looking back up at her.

"I know, dear, but I needed to get my mind wrapped around the idea of really bringing a child into this world." That's all Regina had to say to convince Emma that it was the right choice. They easily resumed their original position leaning into each other.

"I'm so happy and excited. And I don't have to carry this one! Baby, for my sake, I really hope you don't get any of the really bad side effects."

"And what, may I ask, are you referring to?"

"Oh, you know. The morning sickness, the frequent feeling of nothing being clean enough, drastic mood swings…" Emma said while she raised her hand to count on her fingers while she listed off all of the effects.

"You just don't want to deal with them."

"No, that's not it. I've been through them. Twice. And I don't want you to have to go through it too."

"That's sweet of you, but I have done this part before." Regina was starting to get a little tense at the topic of conversation. Her first pregnancy was nothing but a nightmare and even ended just as badly.

"Yeah, babe, I know. I'm also worried about all of that. How do we know we won't run into any of those complications?"

"We don't, really, but Dr. Whale reassured me that things are much different now that we have advanced medicine and that the situation is also completely different."

"I'd like to know how it's different from your previous pregnancy!"

"This is a healthy, magical baby. And it will be different."

"Well, I do know one other thing that will be different."

"What's that, dear?"

"I will be here with you the whole time. I promise. Right alongside you, going through everything with you. And before we know it, we'll have a beautiful little baby in our arms." Regina was staring up at Emma as she announced her small vow of dedication.

"I love you, Emma!" With that, Regina leaned forward and captured the blonde's lips once again.

Emma pulled back and noticed that Regina had tears in her eyes. The brunette had no doubt in her mind that Emma was going to be with her through the whole pregnancy. That loving support system that should be there all the time. Not only did she have her wife but she also had her four year old daughter and her nineteen year old son. Not to mention, Emma's parents. Even though, they were just starting to get along quite well, the brunette knew that regardless of the situation, they would always help as much as they could.

Emma took her left hand from Regina's stomach to reach up to the brunette's face. She wiped away the tears with her thumbs. Then leaned in to place her lips on the brunette's, silencing all sobs wanting to escape Regina's body. The kiss started out sweet and gentle but soon, Regina had turned it into a much more passionate moment. With Emma's hand slowly moving to Regina's luscious hair and down the back of her neck, the brunette began to use her hands to unbutton Emma's shirt. Pulling away slightly, the blonde looked into Regina's lust filled eyes.

"Regina, are you sure about this?"

"Yes, dear. I've never been so sure about anything in all my life."

"Well, okay, as long as you are okay with this."

"Yes, I am. Now shut up and kiss me."

And that's exactly what Emma did. Most of the night until Regina's delicate form collapsed on top of Emma's. The blonde will never get tired of having her wife so close. Soon enough though, the brunette had succumbed to sleep and the blonde joined her very soon after.

They slept peacefully most of the night. That is, until Regina was pulled from her slumber by the overwhelming sensation of her stomach trying to force its contents out of her. The brunette practically leapt off the bed and ran into the en suite bathroom.

The blonde woke suddenly from the abrupt movement off of the bed. Coming out of her sleepy state, she realized exactly what was happening. It was the beginning of morning sickness. She was truly hoping that Regina wouldn't be cursed with it but they had no such luck, it seemed.

After giving Regina a few moments, Emma wandered into the bathroom. She grabbed a wash cloth from the sink, wet it down with cool water, and went to sit close behind Regina so when the brunette was finished emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet, she would be there for her to lean back into. Emma remembers these moments all too well and all she ever really wanted was someone there with her. She would never let her wife be alone. Especially when such a joyous thing made her feel like her body was betraying her again and again.

"Babe, are you okay?" Emma knew the answer. The question was quite a stupid one but she had to ask.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. You didn't have to come in here." The brunette was finally relaxing back into Emma.

"No, I didn't _have_ to, but I _wanted _to. I'm not going to let my wife go through this alone because this is one of the worst things. It feels like your body is completely betraying you and all you want is someone to hold you and tell you it's going to be okay. Trust me, I remember. It's only been four years since I was in the same position." The blonde wrapped her arms around the brunette and tried to rock her a little bit to give her a sense of comfort. Regina turned her face into the blonde's neck. A few tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Is it always as bad as this, Emma?"

"It might get even worse, babe. There will always be something that will be bothering you. And sometimes, you'll feel like you don't want to burden me with anything. But I swear to you, I will be here. You can tell me everything."

"Thank you, Emma. I love you."

"I love you too, babe." Emma was very content, sitting on the bathroom floor with Regina in her arms.

"Emma?"

"Yes, Gina?"

"Can we go back to bed now?"

"Of course, dear." The brunette leaned forward so Emma could pick herself up off the ground and then pick up Regina. She practically carried her back to bed where they stayed for the rest of the morning. At least until they received the inevitable phone call from their kids, wanting to come home.

XXXXX

_7 Years Earlier_

"PAIN. PANIC. GET DOWN HERE. NOW!" Fire had engulfed the tall man's entire body as his anger raged on. He stood in the middle of a dark and dreary cave where he did his most work. While checking up on his 'success' of the day, he noticed one very small glitch in the report.

"Coming, your most lugubriousness." Two rather small, worm-like creatures hopped down the steps towards their master.

"What is this?" The fiery man pointed down into a ravine where thousands of ghostly bodies were floating around in a circle. He had noticed a beautiful creature floating down in the depths of the fluorescent green liquid.

"That is a soul."

"Why yes, it is. But whose is that?"

"Ummm… that's Maleficent."

"And why is she in there?"

"Because that's where everyone goes when they die…."

"WHY IS SHE DEAD?"

"Uh… uh... I don't know… I mean, she has some pretty evil friends. I'm sure she did something to piss them off." Panic was starting to get a little uncomfortable with the conversation. He knew just how much Maleficent meant to the man and now, Pain and himself were going to have to come up with a good reason as to why their master's lover was currently swimming in a pool of dead souls.

"Well, you'd better find out! Get me the Fates!" And with that, Pain and Panic excused themselves from the 'office space' and went to retrieve the Fates.

_All this time, _he thought, _I thought you were mad at me. I couldn't figure out what I had done to make you never want to come back. I loved you, Mal. I still do. What did you do to cause this? I will figure out a way to get you back. I promise. _

XXXXX

Very soon after he sent Pain and Panic away, the Fates arrived to explain the predicament he now found himself in.

"You're here. Good. You can tell me why my beloved is currently floating in a pool of souls." His back was turned to the Fates, trying to keep calm in order to actually get the information he wanted from them.

"We cannot tell you such a thing, as it was not our decision to put her in there." The Fates, old, wrinkly, and quite ugly, were not about to just give up the reasons as to why Maleficent currently resided in the pool of souls.

"Well somebody better start telling me SOMETHING or I'm going to get EXTREMELY ANGRY!" Flames were now engulfing his entire body. He quickly spun around to face the Fates and then walked towards them as if he would be able to intimidate them.

"All that we can say is that she got herself into a bit of a mess and there was no way out."

"That doesn't seem like a normal answer from the Fates. There is someone forcing you not to say anything, isn't there?"

"No, sir, there isn't. We just don't like to dwell on the past."

"Ah ha! But you are all about the past. Mentioning the past isn't going to harm you or anyone else. JUST TELL ME! I need to know what happened to her." He was finally at his breaking point. If they withheld information from him any longer, he was going to blow a gasket.

"You must not act as if this was our fault. We have had nothing to do with Maleficent's fate, ironically. However, she got herself into a conundrum with her good pal, Regina, the Evil Queen. Although, it was not Regina who did Maleficent in, it was Regina's true love."

"Can I bring her back? I need her by my side."

"We will say this, you will have to give up a lot in order to save her. What that is, we don't know, it can only be decided upon by yourself. However, a deal must be struck. As far as we know, there is only one man that can accomplish that. We must leave now." And with that, they were gone.

Hades always knew that there was more to Maleficent's life than what she was letting on, but knowing that one of her greatest friends turned on her confused Hades to the extreme. Why would they want to be rid of Maleficent if she was her friend? Most importantly, what is this deal that Hades will make to get her back in his arms?

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Please Review! Your reviews keep me writing. Seriously, without you guys, I never even would have gotten through the first story. I hope it didn't disappoint!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello my faithful readers. I apologize for this being so late. I got quite sick after I posted the last chapter and I have been fighting that ever since. Getting better occasionally but still having it linger. I'm also back at school. And work. And I'm in a play that is currently in performances. So I'm really busy. But I wanted to get this out to you. This chapter is a lot of just fluff but it is setting up the next few chapters, so bear with me.

*All mistakes are purely my own

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT. Or any of the characters within. Except Gwen. **

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_Henry was sitting in the driver's seat of his 2013 Kia Sportage. The radio was playing his favorite tunes from the 90's era. Granted, he wasn't from the time period but he definitely liked the music. _

_He had just left his mother's house and was on his way back to school. He had only been home for the weekend as a surprise to his little sister. _

_Just outside the Storybrooke town line, it had started to rain enough to be a nuisance for drivers. Henry did his best to concentrate more on the roads than on the music because he remembered one of the most important things he had been taught during drivers training. 'When it rains, especially right when it begins, the roads could potentially be slippery. The oil build up from cars have a tendency to create a slick covering when water is added.' He could still hear his Ma's voice in his head telling him. _

_Even though he had heeded the warning, sometimes it's not enough to prevent bad things from happening. _

_Not knowing how he didn't notice, the patch of road he was on made his car start to lose control. Before he knew it, the Kia had turned so the passenger side was facing forward. This situation prevented him from being able to control the speed in which he was going. Coming out of the slick area with his car facing the wrong direction caused the vehicle to start flipping down the road and into the ditch. Henry kept his hands on the steering wheel but when he realized there was nothing he could do, he just took in his surroundings trying to make sure that he would remember everything. When the car was flipping, Henry noticed that his phone was bouncing all over the cab and it would be difficult to get to once the car was no longer in motion. _

_Suddenly, the car stopped. It was lying on the driver's side and all of the glass windows had shattered by this point. Some shards of glass had pierced Henry's skin when the windows gave out. His forehead, cheeks, chin, neck, and forearms had all been exposed and was now slowing dripping blood. Henry could feel himself losing consciousness as he looked around the cab for his phone. Finally, he saw his phone down by his feet, lying on the door of the car. He tried to release the seat belt, but found that it had jammed in the rolling of the car. Trying his best to reach the phone, he was able to move his leg enough to push it towards his hand. By this point, Henry knew that he only had a minute or two at most before he lost consciousness. He was losing way too much blood. _

_Picking up the phone, turning on the screen, he dialed 9-1-1. Almost immediately, the dispatcher answered the call. _

"_911, what's your emergency?"_

"_Hi… I'm Henry Swan-Mills… I've been in a car accident. I think I'm only… ten minutes outside of Storybrooke, Maine. I'm losing… a lot of… blood…. Please help…"_

"_Sir, do you know what road you are on?"_

"_Umm… I think… I'm…" Before Henry could answer, the phone slipped from his hand as hand fell into unconsciousness. _

"_Sir? Hello? Sir, are you there?"_

_XXXXX_

_Henry could hear his mother. His brunette mother calling for him. He couldn't place where it was coming from though. He forced himself to open his eyes. It was a much harder task than he could have imagined. _

_Opening his eyes just enough to see his surroundings, he noticed he was still in his car, but this time there were EMTs and police officers and his moms. His moms? _Oh god, _he thought, _why are they here? They shouldn't have to see me like this?

_From a distance, Regina noticed that Henry had tried to open his eyes. The officers had held the blonde and brunette back because of the seriousness of the accident. But once the brunette had seen her son waking up, there was no way a couple police officers could stand in her way. She ran up to where the windshield should have been and tried to get as close to Henry as she possibly could without endangering herself from the wreckage. _

"_Henry! Oh god, Henry! Honey, you're going to be okay. Just hang in there for me, okay? For me and your mom and your sister, okay? You're strong, Henry. We know you are."_

"_Mom… where is… Ma?"_

"_She is right here, Henry. She is right behind me."_

"_Hey, kid."_

"_How did… you get… here… so quick?"_

"_Henry, they've been trying to get you out for the forty-five minutes. They called us once they put the info in on your license plate."_

"_Oh so… I've been out… for a while then… huh?"_

"_Yeah, kid, you have. Look, I need you to talk to your mother while I help the officers get you out, okay? We need you to keep talking."_

"_Okay, Ma." Henry promised his Ma that he would keep talking. Regina went to reposition herself so her back was up against the hood of the suv and she could reach her arm into the vehicle to hold her son's hand. _

"_Henry, tell me about your classes that you're taking."_

"_Uhmmm… I'm taking a philosophy class that is pretty boring. There is a creative writing class."_

"_That's wonderful. Are you working on any pieces right now?"_

"_Yeah. It is about a Knight who is prophesized to save the Evil Queen from herself. They win a battle that had been going on for a very long time." Henry paused a moment to cough and catch his breath. There was a little bit of blood that appeared on his lower lip. "The Knight helped the Evil Queen be seen as no longer Evil but quite the opposite. They grew to… love each other… and eventually got married… I still don't know…. how to… end it…. but it has to…. be… happy…" _

_Henry's eyes slowly shut and his breathing slowed tremendously. Regina began to panic. She was losing her baby boy. The brunette held out her hand to rest over Henry's heart. With all of her might she was trying to get her magic to heal whatever it could. _

"_Henry. Come on, Henry. Stay awake. You have to keep your eyes open, baby. Henry. HENRY!" _

XXXXX

Emma awoke to the brunette turning over repeatedly on the other side of the bed; almost like she was thrashing about from a nightmare. 'Oh no!' Emma thought. 'She really is having another nightmare.' The blonde quickly moved to where she could move the brunette into her lap and gently wake her.

"Baby, wake up. Come on. It was just a nightmare. I'm here now. I'm here." The blonde said to the brunette, hoping that it was enough to wake her from the darkness.

A sharp intake of air suddenly came from Regina as she shot up out of bed and away from the horrible nightmare that she just lived through. And to her, it felt quite realistic. She continued to whimper and breathe quickly causing her to hyperventilate. Emma took her hand and cupped Regina's cheek, bringing the brunette's face closer to hers. Green eyes looked deeply into chocolate eyes that were laced with worry and fear. Emma thought back to the times when they first started sleeping in the same bed. Regina had been bothered by horrible nightmares and Emma would spend hours holding and comforting the brunette until she was finally calm enough to go back to sleep. The only thing is, it had been almost two years since the last nightmare. They had been thinking that they were done and over with but apparently with the new surge of hormones raging within Regina's body, they were coming back with fervor. This pregnancy was going to be very long and tiring if things like this keep happening.

"Henry. It was Henry. He was hurt and I… I couldn't do anything. I had no magic. Emma, I couldn't do anything to save our son! It felt so real." Regina glanced down at her hands, wondering what had been stopping her. Tears were continuing to run down her face.

"Regina, baby, look at me. You're okay. Henry is okay. It was just a nightmare. It wasn't real. I'm right here with you, okay? And Henry is at his grandparent's house with Gwen. Remember? They are fine. I promise."

"But it just felt so real, Emma. I… I don't…" The brunette leaned into the blonde seeking more comfort. She glanced over at the nightstand with the alarm clock and noticed it was already 8:30am. Way later than she normally sleeps. "Emma. We should call them. Let's go and meet them at Granny's. I need to our babies." And with nothing more to say, she began to get out of bed. But not quick enough to escape the grasp of Emma's hand pulling her back.

"Whoa, babe. Calm down. My cell phone is right here. We'll call them on speakerphone, okay? It might be able to calm your fears a little, at least until we physically see them."

"Okay. I think I can handle that." Emma pulled her phone out, went through her recent calls, pulled up Snow's phone number and pressed send. The dialing tone was heard throughout the bedroom.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mom. Regina and I are on speakerphone. We were wondering if we could talk to the kids."

"Uh, yeah. Of course. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it will be."

"Okay, here they are."

"Thanks."

"Hi Momma. I missed you so much. When do I get to see you? Are you going to come pick me up? Where's Mommy? Is Mommy there too?" Gwen's little voice came through the speaker and to Regina, it made it seem like everything was right with the world.

"Yes, baby, Mommy is here." Regina answered her young daughter.

"Mommy, are you okay?"

"Yes, Mommy is okay. Is Henry there with you?"

"Yep. Henry is here. I will give him the phone now." Both mothers hear a bit of a shuffle for the hand off.

"Hey Ma. Hey Mom."

"Good morning, Henry. What do you say you convince your grandparents to take you and your sister to meet us at Granny's? Your mom had a bit of a nightmare and we both think that seeing you and Gwen would calm her down a little bit." Emma explained briefly, not wanting to alert him of anything.

"Yeah, I think that's doable. Let me ask Gramps real quick." Henry pulled the phone away but didn't bother to cover the speaker. So Regina and Emma heard everything that he was saying. 'Hey Gramps, can we go to Granny's? Ma wants to meet us there.' But all they heard as a reply to that a low muttered response. "Hey Ma. Yeah, we'll be there in about 30 minutes. Sound good?"

"Sounds great, kid. We'll see you there. Love ya!"

"Love you, too. Bye."

Emma pressed the end button and set her phone on the nightstand. Leaning back to Regina, she plants a quick kiss on her cheek before getting up out of bed.

"See, they're okay. We'll see them in 30 minutes. Now. Let's get ready to go." And with that being said, Regina didn't hesitate to get out of bed herself and get ready to go meet their kids at the diner.

XXXXX

Thirty minutes later, both Emma and Regina were holding their kids in their arms at Granny's diner. Just having walked in the door, they scoped out the corner booth and went to claim it for their own. Gwen was sat in the corner between Emma and Regina. Snow sat next to Regina, Charming sat next to Snow which was opposite Emma and Gwen. Henry sat opposite Snow and Regina. Shortly after they sat down, Ruby came to get their order.

"Good morning, Charming-Swan-Mills clan. What can I get for you?" Ruby always did have to make her waitressing interesting.

"Good morning, Ruby." Regina answered. "I would like my usual please."

"Alright. Snow?"

"Usual."

"Charming?"

"Same."

"Boy, you guys are just a hoot in the mornings. Henry?"

"Uhhh… I would like the pancakes, please. With strawberries on top with just a tad bit of whipped cream."

"Mmm. That sounds delicious. Alright, Emma, what can I get for you?"

"I don't know, hold on." Emma looked over to Gwen. "What should we have Gwennie? What sounds good?" Gwen glanced at the menu, then looked back to Emma. She never actually said anything, but she was still communicating to Emma what she thought they should get. "I agree. That does sound very yummy. Ruby, we would like to have the French toast with strawberries and a side of bacon."

"Okie dokie. Your order should be up in ten minutes." And Ruby took her leave back to the kitchen.

"Emma," Regina said, "what was that? Did Gwen actually tell you what she wanted or did you just get what you wanted?"

"Oh, no, Gwen answered my question. Did you not hear her? I thought she said it out loud."

"No, she did not." Regina was a bit peeved at hearing this, but she looked down to Gwen. "Honey, did you talk to Momma?"

"Yes."

"But did you use your words?" The brunette had a very soft tone that she used whenever she spoke to Gwen. It was never demeaning, instead, she always spoke to her as if she about ten years older than she really is.

"No, Mommy. I didn't use my words. I used my telel…. telelap…. telepathy." Gwen knew that she was encouraged to physically speak more than just use her mind to talk to her blonde mother. However, sometimes, she thought that this way of talking was much better. Regina never liked it though, because it made her feel like she was left out of something super important.

"Gwennie, what did we talk about? Aren't you supposed to use your words? Mommy can't hear your beautiful sweet voice when you talk inside, remember?" Emma was able to talk to Gwen much easier when it came to the telepathy. She was trying to teach her daughter that it was impolite to not talk out loud when she is around the rest of her family.

During this whole exchange, Snow, Charming and Henry just watched on in earnest, not really knowing if they should say anything. Snow noticed how Regina tensed up when Emma began talking to Gwen and knew that this subject was definitely something that should be talked about with Regina.

"Are you going to apologize to Mommy for not doing what she asked of you?" Emma asked.

"Yes. Mommy, I'm sorry. I really wish you could hear me too." Gwen crawled over to the brunette's lap and gave her a quick hug, then came back next to Emma and grabbed the crayons that Ruby had set on the table for her.

"Me too, baby. Maybe someday." At this, Emma looked up curiously at the brunette. All the while she was pregnant for Gwen, she always had a knack for knowing what exactly the little one was up to and what she wanted. But not actually putting those things together until now, she thought that maybe, just maybe, Regina would have a similar advantage with the baby that she is currently carrying.

"So, Henry, how is your sword fighting these days? Getting any workouts in at school?" Charming asked Henry, just to change the subject. Once Emma had finished thinking about the new baby, she turned her attention to her son's conversation with his grandfather. This allowed Regina and Snow to have a separate conversation.

"Regina, is everything okay? I sensed there was something up when I got the call this morning from Emma. And I'd like to think that I know you well enough to know when something is wrong." Snow tried to keep the questions fairly easy. She didn't want to seem like she was prying into her daughter's life through her wife.

"Yeah, Snow, everything is okay. Well, mostly better than okay." Regina had smiled at her own statement for the first time that day. Trying to keep this new baby under wraps for a while, she has to be careful with what she says.

"Are you sure? I mean, I really think that it really bothers you that Gwen can speak with Emma in her mind."

"It does, Snow. But I'm getting used to it. It's just yet another connection that I don't have with one of my children and Emma does. I think I would honestly like to stop talking about this. I know you're trying to help but unless you can actually help me to hear my daughter via telepathy, then please keep to yourself on the matter."

"Sorry, Regina, I didn't mean anything by it."

"I know, Snow, and I really appreciate the concern."

"Have you and Emma figured out what to do about her magic yet?" Snow wanted to change the conversation and that was the first thing that popped into her head.

"We have talked about it, but we have not come to a conclusion quite yet." Regina was being very stoic with her answers now. "I thought that we might have to bind Gwen's power but I don't want to take away the connection that she and Emma have. It is a great comfort for Gwen and I'm not about to take what she knows away from her simply because she isn't being taught how to use her gift."

"Well, it sounds like you've kinda come to a conclusion to me." Right then, everyone's attention was turned towards a quick intake of air followed by incessant coughing. Charming had just been talking to Henry and Emma when he felt his lungs close up on him. He was having a hard time breathing.

"Honey, are you okay?" Snow asked. Just as she was reaching for his arm, he collapsed first onto the table and then off his chair and onto the floor. "CALL 911. NOW!"

* * *

Please review. Your reviews are what keeps this going. And yes, I tend to be a dramatic writer and I love cliffhangers. But what do you think caused Charming's current state? I'd love to hear your thoughts.


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